One of the most important tools I've acquired during my entrepreneurial journey so far is to ask questions. And it is not as simple as it sounds, especially in the context of selling. It is often easier to talk endlessly trying to persuade your customer than listen and learn from him. And here comes my next quote by Patrick Henry: "Selling without diagnosis is bad selling". I've learned that selling is like a visit to the doctor's office, where I would be the doctor, not the other way around. It is as simple as asking where it hurts and the customer giving me all the answers I need. Quite different from me asking the customer for the antidote to MY pains - lack of money, not enough sales or just greed.
From Adam I remember learning about how to sit similar and talk at the same pace with my customer or how to create a connection by chatting beforehand. The interesting part is that I have not only learned concepts or theoretical ways to sell, but practical advice like actual "magic questions" to uncover need: "So tell me a little about your firm and your specific situation so I can better understand your needs.", "What's going great?","What's NOT going so good?", or to uncover competitors: "What have you tried so far and how did it go?", or just to attempt to close a deal: "So where do we go from here?".
I would like to stress the importance of meeting judges and guest speakers in and out of class, first because they truly bring a practical perspective but also because of the potential life changing impact they possess. Most of the speakers we had for class were successful because of a speaker they met in the Greif Center, when they were in our shoes. Scott Yamano's first job was for one of the speakers he had for class. The first ever 686 t-shirt was sold in a store owned by one of the speakers here at SC. I'm not sure if Professor Knapp had a similar story, but the point is that the list goes on. I am hoping to get Scott Yamano's Dedicated Media as my first customer and maybe one day I shall be a speaker in one of these classes and that's going to be the perfect opportunity for students to come. The opportunity is in front of us right now, we should take advantage of it.
I don't know if it's because I am really passionate about the industry I'm working in, or because I simply enjoy doing it, but for me the entrepreneurship classes at USC have been THE best spend tuition money EVER. I truly think they contributed greatly to my current mindset and will continue to help me along my entrepreneurial path.
Please don't hesitate to comment and bring your own point of view ;)
網路上也能寄放衣服嗎？以獎勵創新網站的日本WISH大賞日前公布，獲得大獎的為專營「線上衣櫃」的Dressphile網站，該大賞預言Dressphile網站將會改變日本人的收藏習慣。 
